Great Lakes Warming; Increase in Homeless High School Students; Smithsonian Exhibits in Illinois
People jog along the shore of Lake Michigan Wednesday morning, June 13, 2018, in downtown Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato)
On the 21st: A new report finds that the Great Lakes are warming. Although it might make for better swimming, higher temperatures could have a disastrous effect on Lake Michigan’s game fish which depend on cold, water. Also, Illinois Humanities teams up with the Smithsonian to produce traveling exhibhitions all over the state. We’ll tell you when they’re coming to your neighborhood. And, we also discuss the rising numbers of homeless high school students in the state and the potential causes behind that, as well as what's being done to remedy that.
If you’ve ever been swimming in one of the Great Lakes here in the Midwest, you know they all have one thing in common: the icing cold! Even on the warmest summer day in Chicago, the water remains nippy.
But, a new report from researchers at Purdue University finds that the Great Lakes are warming. Although it might make for better swimming, higher temperatures could have a disastrous effect on Lake Michigan’s game fish, like trout and salmon, which depend on cold water.
To learn more about this, we spoke to Paris Collingsworth. He is a Research Professor in the Department of Forestry and Natural Resources at Purdue University. He’s also the Great Lakes Ecosystem Specialist for Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant.
Also on the line wiith us was Karen Murchie, a research biologist at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.
"It is clear that the changes will create winners and losers, with some species adapting or expanding their ranges, and others becoming suppressed by unfavorable environmental conditions or being lost from Indiana entirely."
— The 21st (@21stShow) September 19, 2018
Read more from @PurdueFNR: https://t.co/NkDdl0qZ8k
And –
If you’ve ever wanted to see a Smithsonian style museum exhibit, but can’t make it to DC, Illinois Humanities is bringing them to 'Main Streets' across the state.
Throughout this year, as part of our bicentennial, traveling exhibitions will be produced all over the state. The first is in Chester Illinois, which is about an hour south of St. Louis on the Mississippi, right near our first state capital, Kaskaskia.
Director of the Chester Public Library, Tammy Grah, spoke to us today about what to expect.
Matt Meacham, from Illinois Humanities, was on the show as well and explained the selection process for the regions
And, Bill Thomas from the Atlanta Public Library in central Illinois also joined us over the line.
Tammy Grah, Director of the Chester Public Library, says she hopes people get history out of the exhibit- but not just that.
— The 21st (@21stShow) September 19, 2018
"We end with the future. We like to pose a question about what people can do to impact their communities."
But first –
As students return to school this month, many high schoolers are worried about passing calculus, making the football team, or getting ready to take the SAT’s.
For some students, like Danii Green, making sure he could find a place to sleep for the night was also on this list of concerns.
The State Board of Education reports that the number of homeless students has surged the last few years. In 2016, there were 53,733 homeless students but by this year, that number went over 56,000.
We talk about what’s behind this number and what is being done to help students in need?
At age 16, Danii Green was kicked out of his home and found himself without a permanent residence as a highschool sophomore. Now a college student studying computer science at Heartland Community College in Bloomington, Danii was in line with us to share his story.
"One of the things I felt is that I didn't have a place of my own," says Danii Green. "I didn't have a place I could relax and be myself." He says that took a real toll on his mental health.
— The 21st (@21stShow) September 19, 2018